Hermetic closure for tumblers.



PATENTED SEPT. 4, 1906.

W. A. LORENZ. HERMETIG OLOSURE FOR TUMBLBRS.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.18. 1905.

I II/veil to?" William J%.L07"671/Z Witfiass as:

' fm B W My "rain snares PATENT Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 4, 1906;

Application filed December 18, 1905. Serial No. 292,221.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM A. LORENZ, a citizen of the United States, and a resident. of Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hermetic Closuresfor Tumblers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates to improved means for hermetically sealing the tops of tumblers, mugs, and similar plain-rimmed rece tacles, and is especially adapted for sealing y wellknown vacuum processes.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a sectional view, in enlarged scale, of the left-hand upper side of a tumbler, showing my improved closure resting thereon in uncompressed or unsealed condition. Fig. 2 is a view similar to that of Fig. 1, but showing the closure in its com pressed or sealed condition. Fig. 3 is a side View, in smaller scale, showing a sealed tumbler, the left-hand upper portion of which is broken away to show the closure-joint in section. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are fragmentary views, in enlarged scale, illustrating the adaptability of this improved closure to the seal-.

ing of tumblers which are more or less irregular in the contour of their rims, these faults being liable to occur in the commercial manufacture of tumblers. Fig. 4 is a side view showing a depression in the upper surface of the tumbler-rim. Fig. 5 is a view in section taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4, showing the cross-sectional appearance of the depression of Fig. 4 and showing how my improved closure conforms to the depression during the sealing operation. Fig. 6 is a plan view showing a tumbler-rim which is unsymmetrical in its curvature. Fig. 7 is a fragmentary side viewin section, taken on the line 7 7 of Fig. 6,-showing how this improved closure compensates forthe particular irregularity shown in Fig. 6. r

In the hermetic sealing of tumblers and similar round-rimmed receptacles considerable difliculty has been experienced in providing a closure which will seat itself centrally and level upon the tumbler-rim and make an effective and permanent closure when sealed by known vacuum processes.

In tumblers, as in other receptacles for household use, particularly those intended for use'at the table, it is desirable to avoid the use of sharp edges. Hence such utensils are made wlth a run which 1s rounded in more or less approximation to a semicircle. In

the commercial manufacture of tumblers and similar articles of glass these rims are more or less liable to irregularities and other imperfections from Wear or mismatching of the mold and mold-rings by which these tumblers are formed. In order to minimize these imperfections and to produce the well-known right glazed appearance, these tumblers are subsequently subjected to a fire-finishing'oporation in which they are subjected for a short time to a melting heat, usually from, a

gas-flame, which is directed so as to im inge upon the tumbler-rim, the tumblers 'eing slowly turned with the object to bring all portions of the rim uniformly under the action of the flame. vThis fire-finishing operation, however, frequently fails to remove the original imperfections and frequently adds other imperfections of its own, due to the unequal a plication of the heat to different portions 0 the rim, thereby melting down some portions more than others, as illustrated at 24: in Figs. 4 and 5, and also making the inner I and outer contour of the same portion of the rounded crown of the tumbler-rim and below.

the level thereof, this downwardly-projecting portion being caught at the beginning of the downward sealing movement and receiving the entire sealing pressure is compressed and wedged into the said annular space during the whole of the downward sealing movement. This action greatly increases the chances of making a perfect seal as compared with those closures employing a gasket of round, square, or other compact cross-sectionin which the sealing movement itself is utilized-to distort the original form ofrthe gasket, and thereby produce a more or less blunt and irregular projecting fin, which toward the conclusion of the sealing operation is more or less imperfectly projected across the sealing-j oint too late in the sealing opera- IIO tion to insure uniform entry and distribution all around the joint.

The tumbler 10 is of the ordinary wellknown form having a rounded rim. The cap 13 is made of sheet metal or other flexible material, and in its preferred simplest form shown herein it has a flat top l fand cylinside, which may be either straight or curved and which iff the initial or unsealed position of the closure rests upon the tumbler-rim with its acute-angled outer annular corner projecting into the approximately triangular space lyingat the outer side of the rounded crown 12 of the tumbler-rim. In order to enable the closures to be manufactured complete ready for use and handled separately from the tumbler, the gasket in its free condition is preferably made slightly larger than the cap and is slightly compressed therein. It may, however, if desired, be cemented in place, and in that case it is not necessary to make the gasket of a larger diameter.

' The advantage of having the annular outer corner of the gasket lie closely against the interior of the cap-flange is that the corner is thereby disposed immediately above the joint between the cap-flange and the tunibler-rim, being thereby in a position to be drawn and wedged into that joint during the entire sealing o eration, the acute angle of the corner enab ing the sharp edge to project well into that oint at the very beginning of that operation. A further. important advantage of this gasket having an aeute-angled outer edge or corner is that the downwardly and outwardly inclined lower edge of the gasket is enabled to slide down toward the outer side of the rim, thus aiding .in the general tendency to direct and compress the lower portion of the gasket into the aforesaid tri-' angular space lying outside and below the level of the crown 12 of the tumbler-rim.

In the case of an imperfection like the depression 24 in the upper portion of the rim of the tumbler,- as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the vertical thickness or cushion of rubber lying immediately "above and just outside of the rim is sufficient to compensate for a considerable depression. Moreover, such a depression does not materially affect the joint be.

tween the outer side of the rim and the capflange at this point, since the depression is in a direction parallel with the vertical flange 15 and has no more serious result than to depress the line ofsealing-eontact at that point. In the class of imperfections shown in Figs.

I 6 -and 8, which represent the rim as being i flattened somewhat at 25 from its circular I form the flattening opens a slight space between the rim and the cap-flange, as shown in section in Fig. 7, which space has no more serious result than to permit the edge of the gasket to be crowded down a little farther at this point. t

During the sealing operation as the closure is moved downwardly from its initial position (shown in Fig. 1) toward its sealed position (shown in Fig. 2) the acute-angled annular corner 19 is at once pushed firmly downward into the joint between the inner side of the cap-flange 15 and the outer side of the tumbler-rim, thus pinching the corner of the gasket between those surfaces, and thereby tending to draw it by friction as well as to force it by pressure still farther into the joint as the downward movement continues. In this way the principal zone of seal is established ap roximately .at the line 20.. The continued compression of the gasket tends to carry the surplus upper and inner portion of the gasket inward y over the tumbler-rim between the top of that rim and the under side of the cap, these surfaces serving also to compress the gasket between them and generally to force it outwardly toward the outer corner of the cap and into the joint. The cap is entirely free from the tumbler at all ket. Therefore the cap remains at all times free to settle down under the pressure. The increased cushioning effect obtained by this closure does not necessarily involve the use of an increased amount of gasket material, but is mainly effected by the pro er initial disposition and distribution of t c gasket material in connection with the use of a flexible cap having a suitable contour for directing the flow of the gasket. material during compression toward the desired sealing zone instead of allowin a considerable volume of it to protrude use essly at one or both sides of the actual sealing zone. These improved closures are self-contained and may be manufactured and sold independently of the tumblers themselves. They may be sealed upon the tumblers in various well-known ways which are employed for effecting a vacuumseal. 1 prefer,,however, to employ the process described and claimed in United States Patent No..711,431, of October 14, 1902. It is obvious, however, that these closures could be sealed in any other wellknown ways either by hot or cold processing.

1 claim as my invention 1. The combination with a receptacle having a rounded rim, of a hermetic closure therefor comprising a cap having a substantially cylindrical flexible flange 'approxinmtcly itting the outer surface of the rcceptacle-rim, and a flexible gasket supporting the entire pressure of the cap, and having a cylindrical times, being supported wholly by the gasouter surface fitting the interior of the said flange and in its unsealed condition having a lower outer corner disposed at an acute angle lying close to the inner side of the cap-flange.

2. The combination with atumbler or similar round-rimmed receptacle, of a hermetic closure comprising a cap having a flexible and substantlally cylindrical flange approximately fitting the outer circumference of the receptacle-rim, and a substantially ,cylindrical gasket the vertical height of which is greater than the thickness of it's wall, the;

lower outer corner of the said wall being disposed at an acute angle lying close to the in-,

her surface of the cap-flange.

3. The combination with a tumbler or similar receptacle having a rounded rim, of a hermetic closure therefor, comprising a cap having a flexible flange formed substantially at right angles with the top of the cap and approximately fitting the outer circumference of the receptacle-rim, and a substantially cylindrical asket having a cross-section the vertical height of which is greater than its thickness, and the lower outer corner of which is disposed at an acute an le lying close to the inner surface of the capan e, whereby the said acute-angled edge of t e gasket in its unsealed condition projects into the annular space lyin between the rounded side of the receptacfle-rim and the inner surface of the cap-flange.

In witness whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM A. LORENZ. Q

Witnesses:

H. MALLNER, JANETTE S. ELLSWORTEL, 

